AT&T drops Beats Music subscriptions for new customers

updated 09:37 pm EDT, Wed October 15, 2014

by MacNN Staff

Move seen as part of rumored rebranding shift coming next year

One of the US' largest carriers, AT&T, has abruptly ended a promotion it began with Beats Music prior to the latter being acquired by Apple. The carrier was previously offering the ability to include a Beats Music subscription on a customer's wireless bill if desired, and told AppleInsider that it will continue to offer the plan to existing customers and those currently on the free trial. There is, however, no longer any access to a free trial through AT&T's website.

AT&T promo page no longer available

"There haven't been any changes for AT&T customers who currently have the Beats Music family plan or who are within their free trial period," said a spokesperson for AT&T. "New subscribers can still get Beats Music through their app store or at beatsmusic.com." The option to subscribe to Beats Music directly through AT&T, however, has been removed. Current users are able to access and share the service with up to five family members for $15 per month, or have an individual subscription for the usual price of $10 per month.

Apple is said to be in the process of retooling Beats Music, though it did -- in a rare rumor denial -- directly contradict claims that the subsidiary, part of Apple's $3 billion Beats acquisition, would be shut down and rolled into iTunes Radio. The current speculation is that the service will be rebranded or otherwise altered to be more widely available early next year, but may continue to function as a hand-curated, subscription alternative to the ad-supported iTunes Radio.

CEO Tim Cook has mentioned directly a desire to take the service to other countries, though at present even iTunes Radio itself is limited to the US and Australia. Apple may be planning an expansion of iTunes Radio with the release of OS X 10.10, as some UK Yosemite testers have reported that the streaming radio service is working in their region under the Yosemite betas.

No reason was given by the AT&T spokesperson as to why the promotion was ending, which was first noticed by MacRumors. Due to its efforts prior to being acquired, Beats Music is the only service or app offered by Apple that runs on the Android platform, a fact that may soon change as the iOS maker further consolidates Beats -- best known for its headphone line -- into the fold.

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